Thursday, February 14, 2008

All You Need Is Love... And Creativity

I’m lucky--I get to post my blog entry for Valentine’s Day!

I’m the kind of writer who can’t help putting romance in most of my stories. That’s one reason I gravitated to the romance genre when I first started selling novel-length fiction. My first published novels were time-travel romances, and I’m now writing for Silhouette Nocturne in addition to my Berkley Prime Crime mysteries.

I’m also the kind of writer who can’t help putting suspense or mystery in all of my stories--even the romances. My Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries are far from romances, though--poor Kendra has a lot of issues in the relationship department, and true romances always have a happy ending, at least as far as the relationship goes. But it’s fun exploring Kendra’s many issues.

I love... love! I think it’s both enjoyable and a challenge not only to create interesting characters, but to see what makes them tick. What drives them into and out of relationships. And I was always told, when writing romance, that the hero and heroine need to have important conflicts to resolve--make each of them the other’s worst nightmare!

Not so in real life, of course. The fewer the conflicts, the better, even though “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Or it seldom does.

If you’re a writer, how do you develop the romantic conflicts between your protagonists? If you’re a reader, what kinds of conflicts do you find most intriguing?

And to everyone reading this: Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, filled with mysterious, but exciting, romance.

I seem to give my female protagonists too much to do to think about romance. Which doesn't mean they don't--they just don't want to acknowledge the romance part. Oh, there's this great guy right under my nose? Nope, I'm too busy trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life (not to mention that pesky dead body) to get involved right now. Maybe later. Luckily the guy usually hangs around until my heroine comes to her senses. Eventually.

I haven't written a Valentine's Day scene with Kate yet, but I already know the holiday makes her crabby. Usually because it finds her holed up with a pint of Ben & Jerry's rather than a hunky guy, loll! Maybe things will get better for her in the next book!